Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Pusar, Tilen
Label: Self-released
Released: 2016
Length: 46:05
Rating: 4/5
The renowned one-man-band studio wizard from the Barje marshes, Mr. »Do It Yourself« himself, Tilen Pusar, is back on the music scene with a new album. Time flies. Back in 2012, Tilen paved his own path as a solo artist with his debut »Inner Strenght«. Four years later, it’s been followed by »New Life«.
Already on the debut »Inner Strenght«, Tilen Pusar established what you could call his one-of-a-kind identity as a distinctive fingerstyle guitar virtuoso. From his creamy white Fender Stratocaster, this subtle, soulful master of the guitar knew how to coax a whole series of pleasant, mellow tonalities that, not just in their sound but also in the occasional melody, pulled (like it or not) toward His Excellency Mark Knopfler. »New Life« keeps that thread, although thanks to a few novelties and experiments Tilen took on (especially the closing Man Power and I’m Survivor), the new album steps away from those associations more concretely. The inspiration of masters like Eric Clapton and J.J. Cale is noticeable here and there, especially in passages where Tilen goes at evoking emotion in a single tone or a sequence of tones with a watchmaker’s precision (especially in the quiet passages and tracks like the »updated« version of Coffee Break). Moments that lean toward Irish-Celtic folk motifs are back on the record too. The mid-eight passage of the opening (wake-up call) Born Again flags that right away.
In places, Tilen backs the tracks with rhythmic contrasts and lower-register chords that gently, unobtrusively color the background of the lead motifs the guitarist weaves in the front line. This is actually essential, because it not only breaks up the rigidity that the many repetitions of the lead motifs can bring, but you also have to keep in mind that in his expression Tilen is basically doomed to the single-voice nature of guitar playing, and has to resort to a variety of studio moves to enrich and fill out the sonic landscape. The man also uses a specially effected sound, which, for all its restrained organic feel, lures you into mystical territory through added reverb and sustain, and in places Tilen colors the motifs with harmonies too (the fragile and especially mellow Beautiful). How Tilen Pusar would work with a backing band is best shown by the »wild« I’m Survivor, where the phrases are generously propped up by a thumbpick and distorted tone.
Among all the highlights of the new release, Journey To Myself deserves a special spot. It’s the track that probably describes Tilen Pusar best as a musical visionary and artist. It has pretty much every trait that’s been »scattered« across individual sentences in this article, all gathered in one single place. An uncut gem that evokes now a »love affair« with the blues, then later with country and folk. There’s an avalanche of witty solo-improvisation escapades that keep the lead motifs moving the whole way through and lift the veil on Tilen’s restless spirit, forever exploring himself (through a musical sermon). The track is stitched together from several motif shifts and is the most complex piece Tilen Pusar has taken on in his career to date.
Even though Tilen Pusar doesn’t offer anything on the new album that you wouldn’t already have heard on its predecessor »Inner Strength«, the new record feels significantly more optimistic in expression and emotion. There are fewer tracks that grow out of minor keys. Almost none, actually. Compared to its more mystical predecessor, the new album brings more playfulness and mischief to Tilen’s expression. More of that bubbling, joyful anticipation that leads you toward your goal and toward realizing all the quiet dreams and wishes worth fighting and persevering for. If the debut »Inner Strength« felt like an album of »deliverance«, on which Tilen left all the storms and demons behind, »New Life« feels calmer, more reconciled, and at the same time full of life and a wake-up call. In the finer points of production and arrangement, the new album feels a notch more compact and refined in its »overall sonic packaging«. In other words, more mature! The sensitive Tilen has also tried out a few new things, hinting at possible directions for his further artistic growth.
With »New Life«, Tilen Pusar maintains and cements his position as a musical oddball in the Slovenian music scene. The new album is a worthy successor to the excellent debut. It leaves behind the stamp of different emotions and passions, a genuine imprint of the last four years of the artist’s life under the free sun. “New Life” keeps the wave of unbridled, bubbling passion rolling, through a new musical adventure in Tilen Pusar’s restless, endlessly creative self-challenge. And with it, his artistry keeps on delivering constant positive change, natural evolutionary growth and maturing.
Tilen Pusar – Journey To Myself (official video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0of4RmnSy4
Lineup
Tilen Pusar – all instruments
Production
Tilen Pusar
Tracklist
1. Born Again
2. Man And Woman
3. Pure Heart
4. New Life
5. Journey To Myself
6. Her Way
7. Ready For Her
8. Beautiful
9. Coffee Break (studio version)
10. Man Power
11. I’m Survivor
